Mad Honey is fantastic! I love the combination of Picoult and Boylan’s writing styles. The beekeeping stuff could have gotten distracting really quickly, but it was expertly woven in. Lily’s story is told with such care. I look forward to adding it to my HS library shelves.

Co-authored by one of my all-time favorites, Jodi Picoult, and new-to-me Jennifer Finney Boylan, Mad Honey is a compelling story of two families whose lives intersect when high school seniors Asher and Lily meet and fall in love. They each live with their mothers, who have left their abusive husbands behind to start new lives in the small town of Adams, New Hampshire. When secrets surface, resulting in unbelievable tragedy, all their lives are forever altered. The story is told through the voices of Olivia, Asher's mom, and Lily, Asher's girlfriend, in alternate chapters which also move between before and after the tragedy. The collaboration between the two authors is perfect--the reader will not detect who is writing which voice. They describe some of
their co-writing techniques in the author's notes at the end of the book. In addition to the seamless writing, the authors share an amazing amount of background information about the beekeeping world of Olivia and the forest ranger world of Lily's mom, Ava. This is a compelling read, one that I did not want to end.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this advance copy.

Mad Honey is a beautifully written book with characters I will think of even now that I’ve finished. There is so much to unpack in this novel and will be perfect for book clubs although more than one meeting may be needed to discuss all the subjects that come up in the book.
Mad Honey is very poignant and I was filled with aching sadness more than once. This is not a lighthearted book but one that tackles subjects that need to be addressed, Transgender, abuse, and what it really means to be a woman.
I was devastated for Lily and her mother but gratified to read the afterword by author Jennifer Boylan to know she felt as I did, and for the same reasons. Lily is a very compelling character and I loved her even more as I read her back stories. How brave and fierce both moms Olivia and Ada are when it comes to their children, changing their lives for them, and I loved the relationship between Olivia and her brother.
I loved learning the intricacies and little know facts of beekeeping and honey. I especially loved learning more about transgender, the treatments, the mind thoughts, the surgeries, all things I thought I knew about, but didn’t.
As you can see there is a lot I loved about Mad Honey. I hope these two authors will team up again because their voices together are seamless.

Overall, another great book by Jodi Picoult. I enjoyed her co-author Jennifer Finney Boylan's chapters as well. I was completely shocked by the turn of the story at the halfway mark (and glad I hadn't heard or read any spoilers) and it made me gasp out loud. I loved the rest of the story but didn't really care for the ending of 'what really happened'. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. Readers are going to love this book!

This book. I don’t even know where to start. It is definitely going to stick with me for a while. I loved the 2 voices of Olivia and Lily and honestly never once thought about which author wrote which chapter- I just know I couldn’t read it fast enough. What Lily went through makes my heart ache and honestly it is a story I will carry with me.

In todays world with so much happening i was a very timely book cowritten by 2 different styles of authors. I really enjoyed the storyline from different perspectives and all the twists and turns.
The character development especially Asher kept me reading and reading long into the night. For sure this is a must read and will be a much talked about book. I look forward to more books coauthored again.

Wow! I'm not sure I have the words to articulate how much this book moved me! I could not put it down! Its hard to believe this was written by two authors, it is so seamlessly written! The novel is exceptional! The story was told from multiple points of view, moving back and forth in the characters history. I especially liked how lily's story was told backwards. Wonderful writing, incredible plot twists! This book is going to have people talking and will be the jumping off point for some great discussions! This would be an excellent book club pick! Thank you for the chance to preview this novel!

Mad Honey was a fantastic read and had me hooked from the beginning. I liked that you learned a lot about beekeeping, general knowledge and animals (thanks to Lily). Some of it seemed to be a bit much but it didn't take away from the story. Once everything kicks off with Asher, it feels as though you are really in the courtroom. There is a big shocker twist that was completely unexpected. My heart hurt for Lily and all that she'd been through. I had my thoughts of who could have killed Lily but I was way off the mark! I also felt bad for Olivia as well. She is a good mom and had been through just as much. I kept questioning why more people, like Dirk, were not being questioned during the investigation. I loved Olivia's relationship with her brother Jordan and her sister-in-law. The ending was not satisfying to me at all. There was definitely a double standard.

Arc provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The big twist of this book got spoiled for me before I read this book--a big hint is in the list of Jennifer Finney Boylan's previous books. Overall I enjoyed the book, but I think maybe I would have enjoyed it more without the spoiler. It's an important book to help understand a topic that a lot of people (including myself) do not fully understand. But for me, the flimsy evidence that was presented in the court case and the random trivia inserted throughout the book detracted from it overall. I thought the authors did a good job of co-writing because it seemed cohesive. Overall it was an enjoyable book that had a few minor flaws.

This is a GREAT book by Jodi Picoult and co-author Jennifer Finney Boylan. I did not want to read it too fast because I didn't want it to end. Romance, friendship, family, sensitive topics - it hits all of these. The story is basically dealing with a boy/girl transgender issues so if that is taboo to you then I would not recommend reading. I was quite surprised by the ending and did not expect it. I definitely recommend this book.

Thanks so much to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion; I LOVED reading this book because it reminded me of the way Jodi wrote her earlier books, which are my favorite! I am such a fan and as a writer myself, this book had me from START to FINISH! Picoult and Boylan wrote amazingly together and I actually liked most if the characters, which is rare. I would highly recommend this book!

Excellent, as expected. Jodi Picoult is an automatic first purchase for most adult fiction collections and this one is no different.

I started reading this book too late on a Sunday. By 12:40 am, I told myself that I would finish the chapter and go to bed, which is precisely when the first big twist was revealed. I felt stupid not to have seen it before, but now I couldn’t sleep.

This felt like a flashback to earlier Picoult works, which I have always liked. With multiple perspectives, a court case, a big twist, it was more familiar than some of her recent works. While I enjoyed “Book of Two Ways” and “Wish You Were Here,” they didn’t hit me in the same way as “My Sister’s Keeper” or “Handle With Care.” This one kept me reading all night and was tense, heartbreaking, sweet, sincere, and tragic.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult; Jennifer Finney Boylan Jodi and Jennifiier make for a good writing team. So, some good does come from Tweets! The story starts out with the death of a young girl seemly at the hand of a rage fueled boyfriend. Then the story evolves into so much more. Read with an open mind the backstory of Lily. There is a wealth of information about her life choices. Olivia's story moves forward in time. She has looked at life and people through filters of abuse and anger issues which clouds her view of events and people. Preconceived notions almost lead to a complete disconnect between Olivia and her son, Asher. A history of bees and beekkeeping is interwoven into her story. The ending has the Picoult touch with an expected surprise.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Goodreads
I received an ARC from Netgalley. Spoiler Free. This is one of those novels that feels like riding a rollercoaster (which to me is the best feeling when going on a book journey). You start off steady with that delicious undercurrent of anticipation, knowing that you will eventually climb and fall but be exhilarated all the while.. I thought I knew where the twists and turns were taking me until one "bottom dropping out" moment left me feeling like my heart was in my stomach. This is a fantastic novel that explores the complexity of identity and relationships while challenging the reader to re-examine how the concept of privilege influences both.

This mystery started out solid. One of those books you read the first chapter, sigh, and realize you will be doing nothing but reading Mad Honey until you have finished.
The characters are well crafted.
There are a few "B" stories, and one of those is a history lesson about bees.
I found the bee story fascinating, at first.
As easily as I found myself in love with the book, I found myself disliking it, skipping along instead of savoring.
Politics has seeped into everything; it's almost impossible to escape lectures by those in Ivory Towers, and Mad Honey firmly delivers on veering into great story telling to lecturing.
The teen sex scenes...didn't need actual description there. I'd have liked more description of the murder scene than the sex scenes.
One very frustrating point (SPOLIER ALERT) is the mom did not push for details of what had happened when her son went to see the girlfriend and found her dead. Any mom would ask questions of not only her son but also the detective. She didn't even TRY.
The flashbacks were tedious after time.
I will happily sell this book to the right readers, and I know they will love it. For me, the politics, flashbacks, and Ivory Tower lectures wrapped as prose, is a one star.
The craft in which the story was told is five stars (the characters, the writing, simply flowed). Surprising ending (the killer) which was, unfortunately, overshadowed by all the wokesim along the way.
If you are looking for entertainment without politics or sexual science fiction, skip this.
If you don't mind slight politics and enjoy sexual science fiction, this is a great book.
I'm rating it five stars, because for me, it's the craft that matters.